Bacchus went to find Akivili.
After hearing him out, the Aeon was first stunned, then felt a bit of curiosity in Their heart.
They scratched Their head, speaking hesitantly. "This isn't very good, is it?"
Bacchus started fanning the flames.
"The Nameless can tolerate the unknown, but they can't submit to the unknowable!"
Akivili thought for a moment, then shook Their head.
"Bacchus, this is too dangerous. If it were just you and me, I wouldn't mind trying this, but there are many Nameless on the train."
Their tone was serious. "I have to be responsible for their safety."
Bacchus curled his lips.
He never gave up on the idea in his heart.
If he gave up, would he still be Bacchus?
But he also knew he could not persuade Akivili.
No one knew what the Aeon had said to the conductor, but Pom Pom was very wary of him. Whenever Pom Pom saw him, it was as if Pom Pom had seen Akivili.
Bacchus behaved himself for quite a while. After dispelling the guard of Akivili and Pom Pom, he slipped into the control room while no one was around.
After leaving the control room, he knocked on Eric's door.
When the door opened, the other person had an indifferent expression. He turned and walked toward the desk while speaking to the person on the other end of the jade device.
"No need to interfere. It's their internal matter. Let them handle it themselves."
Zero paused, then added another sentence. "If you really care, then praise his subordinates."
Thanks to the guardian, Hua now felt uncomfortable whenever she heard the word praise.
She subconsciously touched her arm and asked, "Praise? Dan Feng's Dragon Elders avoid him and send gifts to you and me. Why should we praise them?"
Zero smiled, "It seems you still have a lot to learn."
"Tell him that his subordinates have personality and their own ideas. Just that one sentence is enough. He'll understand."
In the end, it was nothing more than an internal power struggle among the Vidyadhara.
Normally, matters like this would never reach Zero. The generals would handle them on their own.
However, this time, the one handling government affairs was not Zero, but Hua.
She was the successor Zero had high hopes for and also a student jointly taught by the generals.
They were all looking forward to her performance.
So small details that Hua normally would not have known appeared in their conversation.
As for why they went to Dan Feng instead of the Dragon Elders, the reason was simple. It was more convenient and more fitting for the Marshal's status.
Not even mentioning the Marshal, just talking about the generals.
The difference in status between a general and the Dragon Elders was like heaven and earth.
One giant ship contained countless realms, with a population reaching hundreds of billions.
Not even counting the Six Commissions and the Cloud Knights, just one commission alone had personnel counted in the hundreds of millions.
The Dragon Elders belonged neither to the Six Commissions nor to the Cloud Knights. Where would a general find the time to chat with Dragon Elders?
For a general to mention something to the High Elder was already doing more than enough.
However, the newly appointed successor did not seem used to her identity and was somewhat suspicious of the Dragon Elders' intentions.
Zero said casually, "Internal conflict. No need to worry. They don't have the courage."
He had many effective methods in mind, but he was too lazy to get involved.
To help share the workload of his successor, Zero had deliberately found excuses to work overtime.
Now that Hua had finally gotten the hang of things, he returned to an eight hour work schedule.
Was it because he thought his working hours were not long enough? Or because he thought his subordinates were too idle?
Right now, the people of Cangcheng were evacuating from Cangcheng to other Xianzhou ships.
At a time when manpower was urgently needed, Zero would not let his subordinates work overtime.
After Marty finished dealing with the traces of the Plagues Author, the Xianzhou would no longer need the help of the Vidyadhara High Elder.
Next, Marty would research the Zimu River Water and solve the Vidyadhara race's reproduction problem that had troubled their entire race.
After that, he would become an honored guest of the Vidyadhara, and the Xianzhou would likewise become their benefactor.
Since the Xianzhou was their benefactor, they should agree to the benefactor's requests, right?
Then if the Xianzhou made some structural adjustments within the Vidyadhara and abolished the old system, that would be natural and reasonable, right?
Zero pulled back his thoughts and asked about the two baby Snout Beasts he had sent over. After confirming that Hua was feeding them separately, he felt relieved.
He ended the communication and looked at Bacchus.
The boy acted completely at home, occupying the sofa closest to the door by himself and lying back in an extremely awkward posture.
When Bacchus heard the footsteps, he leaned back even further and stared at Zero without blinking.
Zero lowered his head, looking at the upside down face, and could not help asking, "Won't your neck break?"
Bacchus showed no intention of giving up his spot and kept occupying the whole sofa, speaking in a cheerful tone. "Nope~"
He turned over, propping up his chin with one hand while kneading the cushion with the other.
"Eric, I'll show you something interesting later..."
Zero thought Aha was causing trouble again.
He picked up the jade device, preparing to warn Akivili.
Bacchus moved quickly and snatched the jade device away, speaking in a pitiful tone.
"Eric, you're too much!"
"When I find something fun, you're the first person I think of..."
Zero did not fall for it at all.
The human was him, and the god was Akivili, right?
Zero stretched out his hand, his tone cold. "Give me back the jade device."
Bacchus sprang up from the sofa in one motion and hid the jade device behind his back.
"No. You can't tell Them."
Seeing that the sofa space was freed up, Zero took a deep breath, sat beside Bacchus, and asked, "So what idea did you come up with this time?"
This time Bacchus did not hide it. He took the jade device out from behind his back and held it tightly with both hands.
He blinked those unfathomable black eyes and said seriously, "Well… we have to start with a Xianzhou story…"
"Have you heard the story of using your own spear to attack your own shield?"
Zero stared at his jade device and answered absentmindedly, "Yes. So?"
Bacchus wore that youthful face, his expression like a child curious about everything.
"Eric, what do you think in the star sea can compare to the shield in that story?"
Zero's expression froze for a moment.
The only thing he could think of was the creations of the Preservation Aeon Qlipoth.
The three great creations were the Celestial Comet Wall, the Subspace Crystal Barrier, and the Great Attractor Foundation Base.
The shield was found. Then what about the spear? The answer was obvious. It was the Astral Express.
No wonder he was not allowed to tell Akivili.
While cursing Aha in his heart, Zero opened the system map.
Not far ahead of the train was one of Qlipoth's creations.
The Astral Express was rushing forward at high speed and slammed into it.
It was already too late.
Zero leaned back, pressing tightly against the sofa back to keep his balance for the coming impact.
Very soon, the smoothly running train seemed to hit something. The decorations near the edge of the table in the room all fell onto the floor.
Zero had no time to care about his losses. He stared at the system map.
Besides Qlipoth's creation, he found an unexpected discovery. The Imaginary Tree.
Zero glanced at the system note.
It was an area no one had reached and impossible to explore.
Very suitable as his resting place, wasn't it?
But now was not the time.
Zero raised his eyes and saw golden stone fragments slowly moving through space.
There were many fragments, in different sizes.
He no longer hesitated. He snatched the jade device from Bacchus and sent the location to Hua, telling her to dispatch people.
Fragments of Qlipoth's creations would surely trade for many good things… even at worst they would sell for nine or ten digits, right?
Hua quickly replied.
[Hua: Are you injured? Rangers will arrive soon]
[Eric: No. Just earning some extra money]
[Hua: ?]
[Eric: Come quickly. There are Aeon creation fragments]
[Hua: ???]
The train had not yet stopped steadily when Zero heard somewhat chaotic footsteps.
Some Nameless were running through the corridor. Then someone stopped at his door.
Zero put down the jade device, steadied himself with one hand against the wall, and opened the door with the other.
The person in front of him was not one of the Nameless, but Akivili.
Their chest rose and fell as They looked Zero up and down. After confirming he was not injured, They let out a breath of relief.
Out of the corner of Their eye, the Aeon met Bacchus's gaze.
Akivili burned with anger. They stepped forward and subconsciously rolled up Their sleeves.
Bacchus blinked, looking innocent.
The instigator of this incident seemed not to understand why Akivili was so angry.
Zero raised a hand and pressed it onto Akivili's shoulder.
"Relax, Akivili."
"Remember the potted plant in the observation car? Do you need me to bring it out?"
Akivili stopped immediately.
That's right. Right now They should not be teaching Aha a lesson for being reckless and nearly hurting the Nameless.
What They needed most was to treat the injured as quickly as possible.
Zero comforted softly. "You should trust them. They'll be fine."
"They drove a snow vehicle with you straight through a stadium, and rode mountain bikes with you off a cliff… they'll be fine."
He repeated what he had said before.
"Do you need me to bring out the potted plant?"
Akivili completely calmed down and shook Their head. "No. No need."
They gave Bacchus a deep look. Their usually gentle golden eyes, which seemed to have no temper, now held anger never shown before.
"Best friend, keep an eye on him. When I finish, I'm going to beat him up badly!"
Zero nodded and smiled as he took a pair of leather gloves out of his coat pocket, turning to look at Bacchus.
Bacchus sat on the sofa and shrank toward the corner.
"Akivili said They'll beat me after They finish!"
Zero slowly put on the gloves.
He kept smiling.
"It's fine. Just something convenient..."
———
[Observation Car]
Some Nameless had gathered together. They were the first to notice the problem, but the train was moving too fast. They only had time to protect themselves and no time to notify others.
Several people were scraped during the collision with the wall, but fortunately there was a magical potted plant in the observation car that could heal wounds. Their injuries quickly recovered.
The Nameless carefully handed the potted plant to Akivili, then scattered to different carriages. Some went into the control room to adjust the train's direction, while others checked the train's damage.
The Aeon, together with the navigator and Pom Pom, knocked on the Nameless' doors one by one at great speed.
Fortunately, only a small portion were injured. After using the potted plant, their wounds recovered in the blink of an eye.
Among them, one Nameless who had stayed in the restroom was injured the worst, with a bleeding head and a sprained ankle.
After healing all the injured with the potted plant, Akivili gathered with all the Nameless in the observation car.
The Nameless had traveled with Akivili and experienced all kinds of crises, but in the end they always turned danger into safety.
This time was no exception.
They talked about the results of their investigations and were surprised to find that after such a violent collision, the train had no damage at all.
The Nameless instinctively looked at Eric.
This quiet Nameless had first provided planet coordinates after the sewage flooded the train. The next day, people from the Zhuming Artisanship Commission came to repair the train.
It seemed his identity was not simple.
He must be an important figure in the Xianzhou!
The Nameless had their guesses but no one asked.
They would not investigate their companions' pasts. The star sea was vast. Being able to travel together was already rare, so why ask further?
The Nameless only enjoyed the present. After talking about the train, they teased the person who had been injured the worst.
That person's face turned red as he looked to Akivili for help.
Akivili understood. They looked at the hole outside the window where the train had crashed through and changed the subject.
"This was really a rare experience."
The Nameless all agreed.
Yes. Who would have thought the Astral Express could crash through the Amber Lord's wall.
The Nameless started teasing Akivili.
"Looks like the IPC should switch to believing in our Akivili."
"Yeah, Akivili, when you become their honorary director, don't forget us."
"Wait, how dare you call an Aeon by name! From today on, you must respectfully address Them as the Aeon of Trailblaze."
Akivili pretended to be dignified but could not suppress the corners of Their mouth lifting.
They raised Their head and waved a big hand.
"Sure. When I get rich, I'll first give Pom Pom endless train pots. Then you can use one and throw it away..."
Pom Pom was stunned, mouth wide open.
Zero thought for a moment and lowered his head to type on the jade device.
[Eric: Save a few fragments for me]
Akivili continued, "Of course, I won't treat my believers badly. Then I'll give each of you a star destroying battleship..."
The Nameless laughed. "Looks like Akivili has never been rich. What rich people give out star destroying battleships? Of course it's vacation planets..."
Akivili pretended to be angry and pointed at the disrespectful Nameless.
"How dare you speak to a god like that? Your vacation planet is gone!"
Everyone laughed and joked for a while, until someone suddenly said, "Let's take a group photo!"
This suggestion was approved by all the Nameless.
"Yeah, yeah. We just crashed through the Amber Lord's wall! This is an achievement worthy of being written into history!"
Akivili looked at the conductor.
Soon, Pom Pom brought the camera.
Zero stepped forward. He crouched down and took the camera from Pom Pom.
Pom Pom tilted his head in confusion. "What's wrong?"
Zero smiled.
"At a special moment like this, the conductor has to be in it too. Go on."
He stood up and waited quietly, occasionally reminding people to adjust their positions.
So that the camera could capture both everyone and the big hole, the Nameless spent quite some effort arranging themselves.
On Akivili's left was Bacchus, and on the right was Pom Pom.
Their arm rested firmly on the red haired boy's shoulder. When They looked at him, Their smile was meaningful.
Bacchus had already posed in advance, raising both hands in peace signs beside his temples.
Once everyone was in position, Zero raised the camera.
Akivili and Bacchus seemed to sense something and froze slightly.
The next moment, a blinding light shone into the observation car.
A massive presence appeared beside the train.
It was a giant as radiant as the sun, built of stone.
The Preservation Aeon, Qlipoth.